1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical module configured to convert an optical signal input from an optical cable into an electrical signal and output the electrical signal and to convert an input electrical signal into an optical signal and output the optical signal to an optical cable; an optical module connector including the optical module and a connector configured to connect the optical module to an external board; and an optical deflection member used in the optical module or the optical module connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, optical communication, which allows communications to be performed at higher rates than electrical communication, has been widely used. Usually, information obtained with optical communications is processed with a microcomputer or an integrated circuit (IC) formed on a board. These devices operate with electrical signals. Therefore, it is necessary to convert optical signals into electrical signals. Devices configured to convert an optical signal fed from an optical cable into an electrical signal and vice versa are referred to as “optical modules.” Further, in this specification, devices having an optical module with a connector function to allow connection to an external board are referred to as “optical module connectors.”
Further, conventionally, it is often the case that multiple optical waveguides are arranged in a row inside optical modules. On the other hand, recent years have seen configurations where multiple optical waveguides are arranged in two rows (arrays) as described in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-279620. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-279620 describes an optical integrated circuit including a flexible optical interconnect having optical waveguides stacked in two layers.
On the other hand, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2009-020280 describes an optical transceiver (optical module) where a surface for connecting an optical cable is substantially perpendicular to the surface of a printed board on which a light-emitting device and a light-receiving device are attached.